Your plastic consumption

[Littlebyerockerboo]

Just curious to see who out there is aware of the effects of plastic on the environment, much documented before all this convid, and if you have made any swaps to try to lessen your consumption of plastics, what changes did you make?

Ive tried to use:

Bar soap rather than dispenser soap
Bar shampoo/conditioner/bath bombs
Toothpaste in glass jars
Mouthwash in glass jars
Sparkling water & milk in glass bottles
Bamboo tooth brushes
Coke in cans
Other consumable items eg. Mayonnaise is glass jars rather than plastic squeeze bottles
Requesting no pizza table be included in take away pizza
Using reusable bags wherever possible - making no sew tshirt bags has been fun
Trying to buy cards without plastic coverings
Visiting local greengrocers for veggies fruits etc, not packaged
Trying my best not to buy travel drinks, use plastic cutlery when out and about.
Using cornstarch dog poo bags, or news paper for home dog deposits

I'm afraid convid has put the reusable/refillable movement on hold big time, but still trying my best to do what I can.

Are you trying to lessen your plastic consumption?
Do you recycle?

I'm still amazed by the amount of people who dont care about this stuff, particularly people who have children.

(My Dp is frustratingly difficult when it comes to buying new carrier bags, he brings 1 - 2 into the house daily!)

Oh yes, what happened to the bags of milk in supermarkets that you could put into jugs? We used to use those then they suddenly disappeared? I then had to throw away two plastic milk jugs, so it didn't really save the plastic I had hoped 🤷‍♀️

Milkman won't come to us, sadly :-(

Why are people saying washing stuff is work? I literally rinse each tin as I use it, eg if I'm putting coconut milk or kidney beans in a pan, I rinse the tin and put it in the recycle bin under the sink before it's even left my hand, and before the stuff needs stirring in, even. Gone immediately and no dried stuff to clean off. Honestly binning them because 'you don't wash rubbish' is the height of laziness.

So glad I'm not alone in my weird hippiness (OK so there aren't loads of us here, but better than nothing!)

CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

Thank you, will give it a go, although Simple facial products sting my skin

@Lilybet1980 Hope this helps

https://www.friendlyturtle.com/cleansers/organic-cleansing-face-balm-50ml/?dTribesID=7dd682d0dc1012b5b4f095f6b2b2e53d%7Cadtribes%7C32935&utmsource=Google%20Shopping&utmmcampaign=All%20Products&utmmedium=cpc&utmmterm=32935&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIMmqmPuO6gIVSsKyCh0nAATBEAkYBSABEgJ1WvDD_BwE

Love seeing the replies - I am interested in hearing from both sides if the spectrum, the people who also don't/don't want to consume less plastic/do thier bit etc and why.
I cannot understand why people wouldn't want to do something. Even if its just a small swap here and there, not everything takes huge amount of time and effort. I especially can't understand those people who are bringing up children, surely your changes and education are the biggest thing you can do for them?

To the PP who mentioned fruit shoot bottles, ive had the same reaction from people, and lack of understanding. Sometimes I just have to let it slide because its too much hard work to get into. Also i find having DC, they get some much plastic rubbish thrown at them! I get so annoyed with kids birthdays at school, when DS is given 'party bags' at the school gates, full of plastic tat.

PP Who asked about resuable bin liner, I just love it. It has elasticated handles for carrying the rubbish through the house (live in a terrace so it has to go through the house) its mould proof and water proof, only needs bunging in the washing machine (usually with the dogs towels) a couple of times a year. It really works for me, and i would rather washing the bag as I do, than have my head down a bin attempting to wash it!

Things I do, which largely have the added benefit of being frugal as well as using less plastic:

• Buy jars of things where possible eg honey
• Growing lots of own fruit/veg so no plastic packaging
• 90% of all our clothes are secondhand. Probably 50% of toys. Most new toys are presents.
• Use bar soap
• Use foil or paper bags for sandwiches etc. Reuse paper bags a few times if just sandwiches/cake etc. This did cause a problem when DS2 had to recreate the water cycle in a plastic sandwich bag for a school experiment as we didn't have any & I refused to buy. Used a bottle in the end.

I am surprised at people binning jars. How difficult is it to rinse something? @squeekums, Are you really that lazy?

You can compost a lot of food waste, newspaper and plain cardboard.
Admittedly, the dalek at the bottom of the garden is made from plastic but I've had it for a long time, and there are some happy worms living in it.

I have tried the plant-based products and some are fine, some are quite tasty but the texture seems slimy. The amount of ingredients is off putting.

If you have sensitive skin, use simple or pure soap. It's not expensive if you buy own brand. I find it less drying than face wash.

Coconut or olive oils can be used for cleansing.

Use less where you can, so that it goes further.

@nancyjuice7 thank you for the recommendation. Looks like a great website!

Any recommendations for a kitchen scourer instead of the green sponges?

@Harpsichord
Kitchen sponges are a hard one to get right but there are ones made out of recycled material (they stock them in Wholefoods Market - not suggesting you find one as they're few and far between but just so you can look on website as I can't remember the name!). Also Redecker copper scourers. Bit scared to use them on my posh pans but you could give them a look!

I find it so hard to reduce plastic use. It is EVERYWHERE.

I tried bar soaps but they clogged up my bathroom pipes.

I do worry that the current pandemic is going to make the plastic problem worse. All those disposable gloves and masks that people are using to do shopping etc.

Out of poverty/necessity get lots of things second hand. I try to recycle everything. I settle for most things. I try to reuse items like boxes and plastic containers, or we use them for crafts. We have bar soap and liquid because my younger 2 cannot get their head round bar soap at all. I buy things like shampoo as normal. I try not to buy print books for myself and use Kindle/Audible instead, but still buy print books for my kids (try to get second hand). I sell or donate items we are getting rid of. I haven't switched to a moon cup, but I would like to get some period pants once I can afford to. I have recently switched to reusable cloths/micro fibre/cloth dusters etc. for most cleaning. I still buy lots of kitchen roll and toilet rolls, and baby wipes, although I do use alternatives as well, i try to make good use of cloths, towels, tea towels, flannels, and muslins for spills and messes. I used reusable breast pads whilst breastfeeding, but use disposable nappies. I don't have the facilities to compost, but when I did I did compost. I still sometimes set the compost aside and then realise I have to throw it out. I'm far from perfect and I could do more, but I generally feel like if I am doing what I can without causing undue stress then that's doing my best. I don't feel the need to make it the hill I'm going to die on. I've got bigger fish to fry

@harpischord my local refill shop sells loofah sponges, which are great. I think you can also get scourers made from coconut husk?

@GracieLane
I think that has to be the way forward - people just doing what they can. It is my particular hill to die on (!) and I'm just happy and grateful if anyone else makes the hill a bit less steep!

I get milk delivered in glass bottles but it is a bit more expensive than the plastic jugs. My recycling can include plastic bottles, tubs and trays and also I collect all stretchy plastic (plastic bags but also bubble wrap from packaging, the bags frozen veg etc come in) and that can be recycled via the carrier bag recycling bins in the supermarket.

We get a mountain of plastic bags from bread, which I use as sandwich bags until sticky, and for putting fruit/veg in at the shop (I'm not paying 45p for a mesh plastic one!)

I try to think of it as crude-oil reduction rather than just plastic - so I use a pully trolley and walk to the supermarket rather than use the car. I do use quite a bit of convenience food but mostly the packaging gets recycled and even 4 months of plastic bags only weighed about 1.5kg for the whole family when I squashed down the sackful to recycle the other day.

I've got a menstrual cup, used washable nappies for both kids, and used cloth wipes as much as possible - all those were easy to substitute over 95% of the disposable items with.

We use bar soap but bottle shampoo. Use few other products. Get Ecover laundry detergent in bulk. Lockdown has reduced the amount of laundry hugely!

I don’t know what my plastic consumption is, no, but I’d expect it to be high. I’m not at all interested in reducing it though and I don’t recycle.

@iamapixie

Oh absolutely I'm not saying it's not a worthy hill just not the one I'm going to die on personally! In my life it has to take a backseat due to other issues I have to prioritise and I tend to prioritise human issues over environmental ones, but that's just me! I do think that people go down in my estimation if they don't give any kind of shit at all. Recycling is made so easy now. I remember when I was a child we had to bag it up put it in the car and drive it to the nearest set of recycling bins! Things have changed a lot.

I try and keep everything right sized at the moment, I don't obsess about anything but I don't do nothing either. I'm sure it's not really enough, but everybody did it it would make some difference. So I lead by example and I am always moving forwards. In fact reading this thread has given me some ideas for some simple swaps which would reduce my families environmental footprint

The biggest things I do are not driving and not flying. The driving might have to change soon, but I will never be a frequent flyer. I don't leave taps running and try to limit water usage. I turn lights off and don't put the heating on unless absolutely necessary. I don't leave stand by lights on (except on white goods such as the fridge freezer). I have too many kids to be truly environmentally sound ever. I think we have found a happy median for now.

This thread is making me feel old, I've done most of these things and more my entire life, but the problems obviously aren't going away. I remember removing packaging in the supermarkets after purchasing products as a protest week after week(until we all got banned😂). Now I just look like any other middle class middle-aged person along with my friends yet we're all still trying our best to stay true to our values. It may not seem like it, but it's possible the least likely looking people are with you on this!

I remember removing packaging in the supermarkets after purchasing products as a protest week after week

Takeittotheboss That’s not a protest. That’s you being an arse and forcing people to clean up after you who are in no way involved in the decision you’re “protesting”.

Actually it was a protest as the supermarkets took/take no responsibility for the over use of packaging. The fact is that they are very much part of the problem. And by default if some of their staff have to use their working time cleaning up some discarded items, thereby as a cost to the supermarkets, perhaps they could reflect on this. And for your information, generally the staff involved were very supportive on a personal level and in agreement that the issue needed to be looked at by their companies. Not an arse at all! Unlike you leaping in with your two feet.